(MPCBMFUIBOPMNBSLFUTJOSFDPWFSZ László Szabó, Hungarian State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underlined support of EU’s sustainable development goals. According to Christoph Berg, Managing Director of F.O. Licht, global ethanol production has stabilised after a minor decrease 2012 and 2013. Douglas Durante, Executive Director, Clean Fuels Development Coalition, urged air quality officials to rexamine assumptions used in determining tailpipe emissions. Bioenergy Int Internat ional No 83, 7-2015 27 EXACTLY THE SAME NUMBER of countries was represented at the 18th F.O. Lichts Annual World Ethanol Conference held in the Hungarian capital Budapest at the beginning of November. Over 500 industry and ethanol executives from Europe, Asia and the US gathered in Budapest, Hungary. Well organized, the event covered perfectly the latest developments in ethanol production optimisation, distiller’s grains, co-products, product diversification, unlocking C5 and C6 sugars, pre-treatment and advanced biofuels. It also offered an exclusive opportunity to analyse the latest data from international producers, (bio) technology companies and traders to maintain a competitive edge and examine the impact of regional policy and trade barriers on the development of biofuels, and ways to manage these to take the industry forward. Fuel and feed player – Ethanol plays an important role in the diversification of energy sources in relation to external environment. Hungary produces a significant amount ethanol. We produce around 14 percent of the European total production of ethanol. The domestic production of ethanol and biofuels contributes to our GDP with almost one percent. We are therefore greatly supportive the objectives set by the European Union (EU) in order to achieve sustainable development goals, said László Szabó, Hungarian State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his welcome address. He referred to the recently expanded and largest Eastern European ethanol plant, Pannonia Ethanol. At full capacity it will produce 450 million litres of ethanol per annum, using GMO-free (i.e. non-genetically modified organisms) Hungarian maize feedstock. Szabó mentioned that GMO-free feed is one of the most important issues for the Hungarian Government during the current free trade (TTIP) negotiations between the EU and US. Recovering markets As usual Christoph Berg, Managing Director, F. O. Licht set the scene by presenting the global outlook for ethanol production, consumption and trade. – The global production of ethanol has stabilised after a minor reduction 2012 and 2013. During this year the European ethanol market has pushed prices to two-year highs, Berg said. With 1.18 billion liters of production France was the top ethanol producing EU member state last year. Germany was the top consumer of ethanol last year, with 1.48 billion liters, followed by the UK, France, Spain and Italy. In the Netherlands, ethanol supplies remain so constricted that prices have run up to fresh twoyear highs. Limited imports remain the cause of the supply challenge paired with major European production remaining offline for now. Milling wheat, feed wheat and corn crushing margins all remain well over EUR 100 per tonne. Extreme tightness of ethanol supply in Rotterdam is expected to continue in the very short term, but prices are likely to weaken in the medium term, conference sources said. October statistics from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), released just days prior the event, showed US ethanol production had increased by 13 000 barrels to 982 000 b/d the highest level in 17 weeks. Stockpiles had also increased, rising by 80 000 barrels to 18 854 million barrels. Ethanol exports from the US recovered during the autumn from a fall in August, with shipments expanding 20 percent to 60.3 million gallons (mg), according to the Renew able Fuel Association (RFA) analysis » Ruta Baltause, DG Energy, spoke on upcoming biofuel GHG emission thresholds. Pannonia Ethanol, a subsidiary of Ethanol Europe Renewables maize-to-ethanol plant in Dunaföldvár about 80 km south of Budapest. The largest plant in Hungary it will produce 450 million litres ethanol per annum (see Bioenergy International no.2/2015). Fuel ethanol production remains concentrated to the USA, Brazil and EU, but biofuel blending mandates are now in place in around 60 countries around the world. LIQUID FUELS
Bioenergy International no 7 December 2015
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